EP2180361B1 - Polarisations unabhängige interferrometerschaltung vom optischen wellenleitertyp - Google Patents

Polarisations unabhängige interferrometerschaltung vom optischen wellenleitertyp Download PDF

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EP2180361B1
EP2180361B1 EP07806072.0A EP07806072A EP2180361B1 EP 2180361 B1 EP2180361 B1 EP 2180361B1 EP 07806072 A EP07806072 A EP 07806072A EP 2180361 B1 EP2180361 B1 EP 2180361B1
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birefringence
polarization
optical signal
arm waveguides
optical
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French (fr)
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EP2180361A4 (de
EP2180361A1 (de
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Yasuaki Hashizume
Manabu Oguma
Takashi Saida
Masaki Kotoku
Takayuki Mizuno
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Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp
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Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
    • G02B6/10—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings of the optical waveguide type
    • G02B6/12—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings of the optical waveguide type of the integrated circuit kind
    • G02B6/12007—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings of the optical waveguide type of the integrated circuit kind forming wavelength selective elements, e.g. multiplexer, demultiplexer
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
    • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
    • G02B6/26—Optical coupling means
    • G02B6/27—Optical coupling means with polarisation selective and adjusting means
    • G02B6/2706—Optical coupling means with polarisation selective and adjusting means as bulk elements, i.e. free space arrangements external to a light guide, e.g. polarising beam splitters
    • G02B6/2713—Optical coupling means with polarisation selective and adjusting means as bulk elements, i.e. free space arrangements external to a light guide, e.g. polarising beam splitters cascade of polarisation selective or adjusting operations
    • G02B6/272—Optical coupling means with polarisation selective and adjusting means as bulk elements, i.e. free space arrangements external to a light guide, e.g. polarising beam splitters cascade of polarisation selective or adjusting operations comprising polarisation means for beam splitting and combining
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
    • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
    • G02B6/26—Optical coupling means
    • G02B6/27—Optical coupling means with polarisation selective and adjusting means
    • G02B6/2753—Optical coupling means with polarisation selective and adjusting means characterised by their function or use, i.e. of the complete device
    • G02B6/2766—Manipulating the plane of polarisation from one input polarisation to another output polarisation, e.g. polarisation rotators, linear to circular polarisation converters
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
    • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
    • G02B6/26—Optical coupling means
    • G02B6/28—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals
    • G02B6/293—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals with wavelength selective means
    • G02B6/29346—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals with wavelength selective means operating by wave or beam interference
    • G02B6/2935—Mach-Zehnder configuration, i.e. comprising separate splitting and combining means
    • G02B6/29352—Mach-Zehnder configuration, i.e. comprising separate splitting and combining means in a light guide
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
    • G02B6/10—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings of the optical waveguide type
    • G02B6/12—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings of the optical waveguide type of the integrated circuit kind
    • G02B2006/12035—Materials
    • G02B2006/12038—Glass (SiO2 based materials)
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
    • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
    • G02B6/26—Optical coupling means
    • G02B6/28—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals
    • G02B6/293—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals with wavelength selective means
    • G02B6/29302—Optical coupling means having data bus means, i.e. plural waveguides interconnected and providing an inherently bidirectional system by mixing and splitting signals with wavelength selective means based on birefringence or polarisation, e.g. wavelength dependent birefringence, polarisation interferometers

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a polarization-independent waveguide-type optical interference circuit which suppresses polarization dependence and temperature dependence regarding polarization.
  • a device indispensable to this wavelength multiplex communication system includes a wavelength multiplexing/demultiplexing filter for multiplexing/demultiplexing wavelength of an optical signal.
  • a simple wavelength multiplexing/demultiplexing filter includes a Mach-Zehnder interferometer circuit (hereinafter, called MZI) using an optical waveguide (refer to, e.g., Non-patent document 1).
  • Fig. 1 shows a schematic diagram of this MZI.
  • An MZI 100 is provided with two couplers (122 and 124) and arm waveguides (106, 108) connecting the two couplers with each other, and the coupler 122 is provided with two input waveguides (102, 104) and the coupler 124 is provided with two output waveguides (110, 112).
  • a path from an input I1 (input waveguide 102) to an output O1 (output waveguide 110) is defined as a through-path and a path from an input I1 (input waveguide 102) to an output 02 (output waveguide 112) is defined as a cross path.
  • optical outputs (O through and O cross ) of the respective paths are described as follows by using the publicly known interference principle (here, a coupling ratio of the coupler is assumed to be 50%).
  • I 0 indicates the optical intensity of input light
  • n indicates an effective refraction index
  • ⁇ L indicates a path difference between the two arm waveguides
  • ⁇ indicates a wavelength to be used.
  • n ⁇ L ⁇ m in Formula (1) for the through path and the following condition in Formula (2) for the cross path (m is integer), and the through-path and the cross path function as a wavelength multiplexing/demultiplexing filter.
  • n ⁇ L ⁇ ⁇ m + 1 2 (m: integer)
  • the following is a fabrication method of the optical waveguide used for such a device.
  • a lower under-clad layer mainly made of SiO 2 and a core layer made of SiO 2 doped with GeO 2 are deposited sequentially on a silicon substrate by the use of a flame deposition method. Subsequently, the core layer is patterned by the use of reactive ion etching. Then, by another use of the flame deposition method, an over-clad layer is deposited to fabricate an embedded optical waveguide.
  • such an optical waveguide has birefringence because of stress caused by a core shape or a difference between the thermal expansion coefficients of the substrate and the clad. That is, the effective refraction indexes (n TE and n TM ) are different from each other between a TM polarized wave which has a polarization direction perpendicular to the substrate and a TE polarized wave which has a polarization direction parallel to the substrate.
  • an optical path length difference depending on the polarization ⁇ (BL) is given by the following formula.
  • l 1 and l 2 are coordinates along the two arm waveguides, respectively.
  • ⁇ Bdl 1 and ⁇ Bdl 2 are the birefringence values integrated linearly along the arm waveguides, respectively.
  • Non-patent document 2 a Mach-Zehnder interferometer circuit in which a half-wave length plate corresponding to one half of the wavelength to be used is inserted on a straight line connecting the centers of the two arm waveguides with each other so as to have the principal axis thereof inclined at an angle of 45 degrees relative to the horizontal direction (or vertical line) of the substrate plane (refer to Non-patent document 2).
  • Fig. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the MZI in the first example of the conventional technique.
  • An MZI 200 is provided with two couplers (222, 224) and two arm waveguides (206, 208) connecting the two couplers with each other. Further, the MZI 200 is provided with a half-wave length plate 232 disposed so as to divide each of the arm waveguides (206, 208) into two.
  • the coupler 222 is provided with two input waveguides (202, 204) and the coupler 224 is provided with two output waveguides (210, 212).
  • an optical signal travels half the distance of the arm waveguide (206, 208) up to the half-wave length plate 232 in the TE polarization (or TM polarization) and is converted from the TE polarization to the TM polarization (or from the TM polarization to the TE polarization) in the half-wave length plate 232. Then, the optical signal travels the remaining half distance of the arm waveguide (206, 208) in the TM polarization (or TE polarization).
  • optical signals each converted from the TE polarization (or TM polarization) into the TM polarization (or TE polarization) have the optical path length difference from each other shown by the following formula, and it is possible to eliminate the optical path length difference depending on the polarization ⁇ (BL).
  • n ⁇ L n TE + n TM ⁇ ⁇ L 2
  • MZI Mach-Zehnder interferometer circuits
  • the first example of the conventional technique is based on the assumption that the perfect polarization conversion is performed from the TE polarization into the TM polarization (or from the TM polarization into the TE polarization) by using the half-wave length plate.
  • the film thickness of the half-wave length plate is shifted from a desired thickness because of fabrication error and does not coincide with the design wavelength.
  • the polarization conversion is not performed perfectly from the TE polarization into the TM polarization and a part thereof remains as the TE polarization.
  • the optical path length difference of the TE polarized wave which is input in the TE polarization and travels without performing the polarization conversion, becomes n TE ⁇ L, in the first example of the conventional technique. That is, the purpose of setting the optical path length difference to be the value shown by the following formula without depending on the polarization is not achieved and the polarization dependence occurs.
  • the frequency space (period) of the extinction wavelengths is defined as a FSR (Frequency Spectral Range) and the maximum value of the extinction wavelength difference depending on the polarization is defined as a PDf (Polarization Dependent Frequency)
  • the PDf becomes as large as 0.4 GHz for both of the cross path and the through-path in the Mach-Zehnder interferometer circuit which is the first example of the conventional technique and has a FSR of 10 GHz.
  • This PDf is required to be one hundredth or less of the FSR for the purpose of avoiding the degradation of the signal quality, and it is difficult to satisfy the specification by the conventional technique.
  • the second example of the conventional technique has a problem that the PDf has a large birefringence dependence.
  • the PDf has a large birefringence dependence.
  • This birefringence dependence will be briefly explained below.
  • the extinction frequencies of the TE polarized wave and the TM polarized wave for the through-path are defined as follows, respectively. f TE 10 th ; and : f TM th
  • the extinction frequencies satisfy the following formulas, respectively.
  • m indicates an order number
  • FSR TE and FSR TM indicate the FSRs of the TE polarized light and the TM polarized light, respectively
  • c indicates the light speed.
  • f avg th f TE th + f TM th 2
  • n avg n TE + n TM 2
  • B n TE - n TM
  • the above formula provides a PDf variation of 133 x 10 12 relative to the birefringence.
  • the PDf has a variation as large as 1.33 GHz when the birefringence varies by 0.1 x 10 -4 , and it is found that the PDf has a large birefringence dependence. Accordingly, the birefringence needs to be adjusted highly accurately and it is very difficult to satisfy the condition that the PDf value is to be one hundredth of the FSR.
  • the Mach-Zehnder interferometer having a FSR of 10 GHz in which the birefringence is adjusted so as to reduce the PDf down to 0.33 GHz by using the second example of the conventional technique, there arises a problem that the PDf varies as large as 6 GHz when the environmental temperature is changed from - 10°C to 80°C.
  • the present invention has been achieved in view of such a problem, and an object thereof is to provide a polarization-independent waveguide-type optical interference circuit which suppresses the polarization dependence of a transmission spectrum and the temperature dependence regarding the polarization.
  • An aspect of the present invention is an optical signal processing device according to claim 1. Further details are set out in the dependent claims.
  • the present invention it becomes possible to provide a polarization-independent waveguide-type optical interference circuit which suppresses the polarization dependence of the transmission spectrum and the temperature dependence regarding the polarization.
  • optical path length difference of the polarized waves which are not converted into the other polarization and the optical path length difference of the polarized waves which are converted into the other polarization do not coincide with each other when the operation wavelength of the half-wave length plate is shifted from the design wavelength. Accordingly, these optical path length differences are attempted to be made apparently the same.
  • n TM ⁇ L of TM polarized waves which are input in the TM polarization and travel without the polarization conversion a difference between the optical path length difference n TM ⁇ L of TM polarized waves which are input in the TM polarization and travel without the polarization conversion, and the optical path length difference, given by the following formula, of the polarized waves which are input in the TE polarization and travels in the TM polarization after the polarization conversion is made to be zero or an integral multiple of the wavelength to be used.
  • An optical output which is the output of the wave after travelling through I1, the arm 1, and O1 is given by Formula (7) in the MZI, which is the Mach-Zehnder interferometer having half-wave length plates inserted in the centers of two arm waveguides, respectively, in which the direction of the optical principal axis of each half-wave length plate is slanted at an angle of 45 degrees relative to a perpendicular line (vertical line) against the substrate plane and is perpendicular to a travelling direction of the optical signal, and the half-wave length plates inserted in the arm waveguides have the optical principal axes in the same direction, respectively.
  • ⁇ TE and ⁇ TM are phase differences between the two arm waveguides for the TE polarized wave and the TM polarized wave, respectively, ⁇ is a phase difference provided by the half-wave length plate.
  • the coupling ratio of the coupler is assumed to be 50% and, from the assumption that the wave length plate has a shift from the design wavelength, ⁇ is assumed to take a value except n and an integral multiple thereof.
  • an optical output which is the output of the wave after travelling through I1, the arm 2, and O1 is given by Formula (8).
  • O TE th O TM th 1 4 ⁇ I TE ⁇ e - j ⁇ ⁇ TE - 1 ⁇ e - j ⁇ + 1 + I TM ⁇ e - j ⁇ ⁇ TE + ⁇ TM 2 - 1 ⁇ e - j ⁇ - 1 I TE ⁇ e - j ⁇ ⁇ TE + ⁇ TM 2 - 1 ⁇ e - j ⁇ - 1 + I TM ⁇ e - j ⁇ ⁇ TM - 1 ⁇ e - j ⁇ + 1
  • n, ⁇ each indicate integers and thus the following formulas are obtained.
  • the polarization independence is found to be obtained when the optical path length difference depending on the polarization becomes an even number order of the extinction wavelength (wavelength to be used).
  • the birefringence value of the waveguide varies because of the fabrication error.
  • a certain extent of variation is allowed for satisfying the target condition such that the PDf is to be one hundredth of the FSR.
  • the Jones matrix of the MZI is M
  • the maximum value and the minimum value of the optical output at a certain wavelength are derived by obtaining an eigenvalue for the product of the complex conjugate transposed matrix of M (M*) T and M (refer to Non-patent document 3).
  • M 1 4 ⁇ e - j ⁇ ⁇ TE - 1 ⁇ e - j ⁇ + 1 e - j ⁇ ⁇ TE + ⁇ TM 2 - 1 ⁇ e - j ⁇ - 1 e - j ⁇ ⁇ TE + ⁇ TM 2 - 1 ⁇ e - j ⁇ - 1 e - j ⁇ ⁇ TM - 1 ⁇ e - j ⁇ + 1
  • the eigenvalue of (M*) T M is calculated for a wavelength (or frequency) and the PDf is derived by the calculation of a spectrum around 1.55 ⁇ m.
  • Figs. 4A and 4B show a calculation result of a relationship between the PDf and the birefringence when the operation wavelength of the half-wave length plate is shifted from the wavelength to be used.
  • the calculation assumes that the coupling ratio of the coupler is 50% and the operation wavelength of the half-wave length plate is shifted by 4% from the wavelength to be used. This is because the operating wavelength of the half-wave length plate used by the inventors has an error of 4% (standard deviation) from the design wavelength.
  • Figs. 4A and 4B show that the variation of the birefringence may be ⁇ 0.1 x 10 -4 or less for making the PDf one hundredth of the FSR in the present invention.
  • Figs. 5A and 5B show graphs in which each of the horizontal axes of respective Figs. 4A and 4B is expressed by an order number (value of the optical path length difference depending on the polarization ⁇ (BL) divided by the wavelength to be used). Figs. 5A and 5B show that the acceptable variation of the order number is within a range of ⁇ 0.2 order.
  • the bold line and the fine line indicate the birefringence dependences of the PDf in the present invention and the second example of the conventional technique, respectively.
  • the birefringence dependence of the PDf in the present invention is found to be relaxed in comparison with the second example of the conventional technique. That is, since the birefringence is changed by the environmental temperature, it is found that the environmental temperature dependence of the PDf is relaxed.
  • the condition of the polarization independence can be calculated at the extinction wavelength.
  • ⁇ TE and ⁇ TM are phase differences between the two arm waveguides for the TE polarized wave and the TM polarized wave, respectively, and ⁇ is a phase difference provided by the half-wave length plate.
  • the coupling ratio of the coupler is assumed to be 50%.
  • an optical output which is the output of the wave after travelling through I1, the arm 2, and 02 is given by Formula (19).
  • O TE cr O TM cr - j ⁇ 1 4 ⁇ e - j ⁇ + 1 ⁇ I TE ⁇ e - j ⁇ ⁇ TE + 1 + e - j ⁇ - 1 ⁇ I TM ⁇ e - j ⁇ ⁇ TE + ⁇ TM 2 + 1 e - j ⁇ - 1 ⁇ I TE ⁇ e - j ⁇ ⁇ TE + ⁇ TM 2 + 1 + e - j ⁇ + 1 ⁇ I TM ⁇ e - j ⁇ ⁇ TM + 1
  • n, ⁇ each indicate integers and the following formulas are obtained.
  • An optical output which is the output of the wave after travelling through I1, the arm 1, and O1 is given by Formula (27) in the MZI, which is the Mach-Zehnder interferometer having half-wave length plates inserted in the centers of two arm waveguides, respectively, in which the optical principal axis direction of each of the half-wave length plates is slanted at an angle of 45 degrees relative to a line (vertical line) perpendicular to the substrate plane and is perpendicular to a travelling direction of the optical signal, and the half-wave length plates inserted in the respective arm waveguides have the optical principal axes perpendicular to each other.
  • optical output which is the output of the wave after travelling through I1, the arm 2, and O1 is given by Formula (28).
  • O TE th O TM th 1 4 ⁇ e - j ⁇ + 1 ⁇ I TE ⁇ e - j ⁇ ⁇ TE - 1 + e - j ⁇ - 1 ⁇ I TM ⁇ e - j ⁇ ⁇ TE + ⁇ TM 2 + 1 e - j ⁇ - 1 ⁇ I TE ⁇ e - j ⁇ ⁇ TE + ⁇ TM 2 + 1 + e - j ⁇ + 1 ⁇ I TM ⁇ e - j ⁇ ⁇ TM - 1
  • n, ⁇ each indicate integers and thus the following formulas are obtained.
  • This formula shows that the polarization independence is obtained when the optical path length difference depending on the polarization becomes an odd number order at a certain extinction wavelength.
  • An optical output which is the output of the wave after traveling through I1, the arm 1, and O2 is given by Formula (36).
  • ⁇ TE and ⁇ TM are phase differences between the two arm waveguides for the TE polarized wave and the TM polarized wave, respectively, and ⁇ is a phase difference provided by the half-wave length plate.
  • the coupling ratio of the coupler is assumed to be 50%.
  • an optical output which is the output of the wave after travelling through I1, arm 2, and O2 is given by Formula (37).
  • O TE cr O TM cr - j ⁇ 1 4 ⁇ I TE ⁇ e - j ⁇ ⁇ TE - 1 ⁇ e - j ⁇ + 1 + I TM ⁇ e - j ⁇ ⁇ TE + ⁇ TM 2 + 1 ⁇ e - j ⁇ - 1 I TE ⁇ e - j ⁇ ⁇ TE + ⁇ TM 2 + 1 ⁇ e - j ⁇ - 1 + I TM ⁇ e - j ⁇ ⁇ TM - 1 ⁇ e - j ⁇ + 1
  • the explanation in the following will be provided by taking as an example a silica optical waveguide formed on a silicon substrate for the optical waveguide. This is because this combination is suitable for the fabrication of the optical waveguide which is stable and has a distinguished reliability.
  • the present invention is not limited to this combination and it is needless to say that the combination may be a silica optical waveguide, an optical waveguide such as a silicon-oxide/nitride (SiON) film, an organic optical waveguide such as PMMA (Polymethylmethacrylate) resin, or a silicon optical waveguide on a substrate such as silicon, silica glass, or soda glass.
  • Underclad glass fine particles 604 mainly made of SiO 2 and core glass fine particles 606 made of SiO 2 doped with GeO 2 are sequentially deposited on a silicon substrate 602 by a flame hydrolysis deposition method (FHD) ( Fig. 6(1) ). In this stage, the glass particles look white because of light scattering by the glass particles.
  • FHD flame hydrolysis deposition method
  • the glass is made transparent at a high temperature above 1000°C.
  • the silicon substrate having the glass particles deposited on the surface thereof is heated gradually, the glass particles are melted and a transparent glass film is formed.
  • the glass fine particles are deposited in such a manner that the thickness of the underclad glass layer 604 becomes 30 microns and the thickness of the core glass layer 606 becomes 7 microns ( Fig. 6(2) ).
  • the core glass layer 606 is patterned by a photolithography technique and reactive ion etching (RIE) ( Fig. 6(3) ).
  • RIE reactive ion etching
  • Overclad glass fine particles 608 are deposited over the core by the flame hydrolysis deposition method ( Fig. 6(4) .
  • the high-temperature transparency processing is carried out to fabricate an embedded waveguide ( Fig. 6(5) ).
  • the glass transition temperature of the overclad glass layer 608 is reduced by the addition of boron trioxide and phosphorus pentoxide as dopant so as not to deform the core in the last high-temperature transparency processing.
  • Fig. 7 shows a schematic diagram of an MZI fabricated as a first example useful for understanding the present invention.
  • the MZI 700 shown in Fig. 7 is provided with two multimode interferometer-type couplers (722, 724) and two arm waveguides (706, 708) connecting the two multimode interferometer-type couplers with each other.
  • the MZI 700 is provided with a half-wave length plate 732 inserted in a groove formed so as to divide the arm waveguide 706 at the center thereof into an arm waveguide 706a and a arm waveguide 706b for dividing the optical path length of the arm waveguide 706 into two, and so as to divide the arm waveguide 708 at the center thereof into an arm waveguide 708a and an arm waveguide 708b for dividing the optical path length of the arm waveguide 708 into two.
  • the multimode interferometer-type coupler 722 is provided with two input waveguides (702, 704) and the multimode interferometer-type coupler 724 is provided with two output waveguides (710, 712).
  • the half-wave length plate 732 as a polarization rotation device is a polyimide wave length plate, and the optical principal axis thereof is perpendicular to a traveling direction and also is slanted at an angle of 45 degrees relative to the horizontal direction of the substrate plane (or vertical line of the substrate plane).
  • the half-wave length plate 732 provides the polarized waves traveling along a slow axis and a fast axis thereof with a phase shift corresponding to a half wavelength of the design wavelength, respectively, and has the function of converting the TM polarization into the TE polarization and converting the TE polarization into the TM polarization.
  • the path difference ( ⁇ L) between the two arm waveguides (706, 708) is set to be 20.7 mm for setting the FSR 10 GHz.
  • the birefringence is adjusted by irradiating a part of the arm waveguide around the half-wave length plate 732 with an ArF (argon fluoride) laser.
  • ArF argon fluoride
  • the waveguide length in the laser irradiation region is denoted by L ir 1 and the waveguide length in the laser non-irradiation region is denoted by L non 1 .
  • the waveguide length in the laser irradiation region is denoted by L ir 2 and the waveguide length in the laser non-irradiation region is denoted by L non 2 .
  • the birefringence in the laser irradiation region is denoted by B ir and the birefringence in the laser non-irradiation region is denoted by B non .
  • ⁇ BL L 1 ir ⁇ B ir + L 1 non ⁇ B non - L 2 ir ⁇ B ir + L 2 non ⁇ B non
  • L ir 2 was set to be 10 mm so as to satisfy Formula (47) and the laser irradiation was carried out so as to make ⁇ B 2.1 x 10 -4 .
  • An ArF excimer laser having a wavelength of 193 nm was used for the laser source, and irradiation power, a pulse repetition rate, and irradiation time were set to be 1 J/cm 2 , 50 Hz, and 530 sec, respectively.
  • the laser irradiation was carried out by the use of a metal mask only in the two laser irradiation regions being not covered by the metal mask and putting the half-wave length plate between thereof.
  • An irradiation area was 50 ⁇ m x 50 mm.
  • ⁇ L was 20.7 mm and B non was 1 x 10 -4 , and ⁇ (BL) became nearly zero.
  • the PDf was able to be suppressed down to 0.04 GHz for both of the cross path and the through-path around a wavelength of 1.55 ⁇ m.
  • the PDf in the first conventional technique was 0.35 GHz for both of the cross path and the through-path. Accordingly, the PDf was able to be suppressed by the use of the present invention.
  • the variation of the PDf was 0.06 GHz for both of the cross path and the through-path.
  • this variation of the PDf was 6 GHz for both of the cross path and the through-path. Accordingly, the temperature dependence of the PDf was able to be reduced by the use of the present invention.
  • the parts of the arm waveguides (706, 708) to be irradiated with the ArF laser may be apart from the half-wave length plate 732 and do not need to be symmetrical with respect to the half-wave length plate if the irradiation amounts are symmetrical.
  • the ArF excimer laser having a wavelength of 193 nm was used for adjusting the birefringence in the present example. This is because the refractive index change of the core is caused by absorption related to GeO 2 at a wavelength of 245 nm and the efficient refractive index change or birefringence change become possible by the irradiation of a laser having an oscillation wavelength around 245 nm. Further, even visible laser can induce a similar change by two photon absorption.
  • the laser is not limited to the ArF excimer laser and it is possible to use various kinds of excimer laser such as He-Cd laser, N 2 laser, KrF excimer laser, and F 2 excimer laser, and laser having a wavelength in an ultraviolet or visible range such as the second, third, and fourth harmonics of Ar ion laser, Nd 3+ : YAG laser, and alexandrite (Cr 3+ : BeAl 2 O 3 ) laser.
  • excimer laser such as He-Cd laser, N 2 laser, KrF excimer laser, and F 2 excimer laser
  • laser having a wavelength in an ultraviolet or visible range such as the second, third, and fourth harmonics of Ar ion laser, Nd 3+ : YAG laser, and alexandrite (Cr 3+ : BeAl 2 O 3 ) laser.
  • Fig. 8 shows a schematic diagram of an MZI fabricated as a second example useful for understanding the present invention.
  • the MZI 800 shown in Fig. 8 is provided with two multimode interferometer-type couplers (822, 824) and two arm waveguides (806, 808) connecting the two multimode interferometer-type couplers with each other.
  • the MZI 800 is provided with a half-wave length plate 832 inserted in a groove formed so as to divide the arm waveguide 806 at the center thereof into an arm waveguide 806a and a arm waveguide 806b for dividing the optical path length of the arm waveguide 806 into two, and so as to divide the arm waveguide 808 at the center thereof into an arm waveguide 808a and an arm waveguide 808b for dividing the optical path length of the arm waveguide 808 into two.
  • the multimode interferometer-type coupler 822 is provided with two input waveguides (802, 804) and the multimode interferometer-type coupler 824 is provided with two output waveguides (810, 812).
  • the configuration, arrangement, and function of the half-wave length plate 832 as the polarization rotation device are the same as those of the half-wave length plate 732 in the first example.
  • the MZI 800 of the present example carries out the birefringence adjustment by changing the widths of the two arm waveguides (806, 808). It becomes possible to set the optical path length difference depending on the polarization ⁇ (BL) to be zero by the change of the waveguide widths (refer to Patent document 3).
  • the widths of the arm waveguides (806, 808) are set to be 7 ⁇ m near the multimode interferometer-type couplers (822, 824) and the arm waveguide widths are set to be 12 ⁇ m near the half-wave length plate 832.
  • the path difference ( ⁇ L) between the two arm waveguides (806, 808) is set to be 20.7 mm in the same way as that between the two arm waveguides (706, 708) in the first example.
  • ⁇ BL L 1 w ⁇ B w + L 1 n ⁇ B n - L 2 w ⁇ B w + L 2 n ⁇ B n
  • ⁇ ⁇ L L 1 n - L 2 w + L 2 n
  • the wide waveguide is not necessary for the arm waveguide 1 only for making ⁇ (BL) zero, but the wide waveguide is preferably disposed also for the arm waveguide 1 from the following reasons.
  • the PDf was able to be suppressed down to 0.05 GHz at a wavelength around 1.55 ⁇ m for both of the cross path and the through-path.
  • the PDf variation was able to be suppressed down to 0.06 GHz for both of the cross path and the through-path.
  • Fig. 9 shows a schematic diagram of an MZI fabricated as a third example.
  • the MZI 900 shown in Fig. 9 is provided with two multimode interferometer-type couplers (922, 924) and two arm waveguides (906, 908) connecting the two multimode interferometer-type couplers with each other.
  • the MZI 900 is provided with a half-wave length plate 932 inserted in a groove formed so as to divide the arm waveguide 906 at the center thereof into an arm waveguide 906a and an arm waveguide 906b for dividing the optical path length of the arm waveguide 906 into two, and so as to divide the arm waveguide 908 at the center thereof into an arm waveguide 908a and an arm waveguide 908b for dividing the optical path length of the arm waveguide 908 into two.
  • the multimode interferometer-type coupler 922 is provided with two input waveguides (902, 904) and the multimode interferometer-type coupler 924 is provided with two output waveguides (910, 912).
  • the configuration, arrangement, and function of the half-wave length plate 932 as the polarization rotation device are the same as those of the half-wave length plate 732 in the first embodiment.
  • a path difference ( ⁇ L) between the two arm waveguides (906, 908) is set to be 20.7 mm the same as that between the two arm waveguides (706, 708) in the first embodiment.
  • the birefringence value is set to be 1.5 x 10 -4 .
  • the birefringence was adjusted by the change of the thermal expansion coefficient and the softening temperature in the overclad glass. That is, the overclad glass was doped with boron trioxide at a rate of 10 mol% and phoshorus pentoxide at a rate of 10 mol% relative to silica. As a result, the optical path difference depending on the polarization ⁇ (BL) becomes 3.1 x 10 -4 from the following formula.
  • This optical path length difference depending on the polarization ⁇ (BL) has an order number of 2 when the wavelength to be used is 1.55 ⁇ m and nearly satisfies Formula (16) and also Formula (26).
  • the PDf was able to be suppressed down to 0.006 GHz at a wavelength around 1.55 ⁇ m for both of the cross path and the through-path.
  • the PDf variation was able to be suppressed down to 0.06 GHz for both of the cross path and the through-path.
  • Figs. 10 and 11 show schematic diagrams of an MZI fabricated as an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the MZI 1000 is provided with two multimode interferometer-type couplers (1022, 1024) and two arm waveguides (1006, 1008) connecting the two multimode interferometer-type couplers with each other, each fabricated on a silicon substrate 1102.
  • the MZI 1000 is provided with a half-wave length plate 1032 inserted in a groove 1120 formed so as to divide the arm waveguide 1006 at the center thereof into an arm waveguide 1006a and a arm waveguide 1006b for dividing the optical path length of the arm waveguide 1006 into two, and so as to divide the arm waveguide 1008 at the center thereof into an arm waveguide 1008a and an arm waveguide 1008b for dividing the optical path length of the arm waveguide 1008 into two.
  • the multimode interferometer-type coupler 1022 is provided with two input waveguides (1002, 1004) and the multimode interferometer-type coupler 1024 is provided with two output waveguides (1010, 1012).
  • the half-wave length plate 1032 as the polarization rotation device includes a half-wave length plate 1032a and a half-wave length plate 1032b.
  • Each of the half-wave length plate 1032a and the half-wave length plate 1032b, as shown in Figs. 11B and 11C , respectively, has an optical principal axis which is perpendicular to the travelling direction and also is slanted at an angle of 45 degrees relative to the horizontal direction (or vertical direction) of the substrate, and the principal axis direction of the half-wave length plate 1032a and the principal axis direction of the half-wave length plate 1032b are perpendicular to each other.
  • Each of the half-wave length plate 1032a and the half-wave length plate 1032b provides the polarized waves traveling along a slow axis and a fast axis thereof, respectively with a phase shift corresponding to a half wavelength of the design wavelength.
  • the half-wave length plate 1032 has the function of converting the TM polarization into the TE polarization and converting the TE polarization into the TM polarization.
  • the overclad glass was doped with boron trioxide at a rate of 20 mol% and phosphorus pentoxide at a rate of 5 mol% relative to silica, and the birefringence value was set to be 0.775 x 10 -4 .
  • the optical path difference depending on the polarization becomes 1.55 x 10 -6 from Formula (52).
  • This optical path length difference depending on the polarization ⁇ (BL) has an order number of 1 when the wavelength to be used is 1.55 ⁇ m and can nearly satisfies Formula (35) and also Formula (44).
  • the PDf was able to be suppressed down to 0.07 GHz at a wavelength around 1.55 ⁇ m for both of the cross path and the through-path.
  • the PDf variation was able to be suppressed down to 0.06 GHz for both of the cross path and the through-path.
  • birefringence value can be adjusted by the application of the above first to third examples to the present embodiment.
  • the above embodiments used the MZI having a FSR of 10 GHz. It is obvious that the same effect can be expected even for another FSR value such as 20 GHz or 40 GHz in addition to the above FSR value.

Claims (7)

  1. Optische Signalverarbeitungseinrichtung mit einer Mach-Zehnder-Interferometerschaltung (1000), wobei die Mach-Zehnder-Interferometerschaltung (1000) zwei Koppler (1022, 1024) und zwei Wellenleiterarme (1006a, 1006b) aufweist, die jeweils auf einem Substrat (1102) hergestellt sind, und wobei die zwei Wellenleiterarme (1006a, 1006b) die zwei Koppler (1022, 1024) miteinander verbinden, und die Mach-Zehnder-Interferometerschaltung aufweist:
    zwei Polarisationsrotationseinrichtungen (1032a, 1032b), die jeweils in einem Graben angeordnet sind, der jeden der zwei Wellenleiterarme in zwei einteilt, wobei optische Hauptachsen der zwei Polarisationsrotationseinrichtungen senkrecht zueinander sind und wobei die Polarisationsrotationseinrichtung zum Umwandeln von horizontal polarisiertem Licht in vertikal polarisiertes Licht und zum Umwandeln von vertikal polarisiertem Licht in horizontal polarisiertes Licht geeignet ist,
    wobei eine Differenz zwischen Doppelbrechungswerten, die durch eine zu verwendende optische Wellenlänge geteilt wird, in einem Bereich von (2m - 1) - 0,2 bis (2m - 1) + 0,2 ist (m ist eine Ganzzahl einschließlich null), die Doppelbrechungswerte sind dabei kurvenlineare Integrale der Doppelbrechung entlang den jeweiligen zwei Wellenleiterarme in einer optischen Signallaufrichtung,
    wobei die zwei Polarisationsrotationseinrichtungen Halbwellenlängenplatten sind, die in solch einer Weise angeordnet sind, dass jede der optischen Hauptachsen davon mit einem Winkel von 45 Grad relativ zu einer vertikalen Linie der Substratebene geneigt ist, und auch senkrecht zu der optischen Signallaufrichtung ist, wobei die optische Signalverarbeitungseinrichtung dadurch gekennzeichnet ist, dass die optische Hauptachse in einer der Polarisationsrotationseinrichtungen und die optische Hauptachse in der anderen der Polarisationsrotationseinrichtungen senkrecht zueinander sind.
  2. Optische Signalverarbeitungseinrichtung nach Anspruch 1, wobei der Koppler ein Richtungskoppler oder ein Multimodeninterferenztypkoppler ist.
  3. Optische Signalverarbeitungseinrichtung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 oder 2, wobei
    zumindest einer der zwei Wellenleiterarme eine Breite hat, die sich teilweise ändert, wobei die Doppelbrechung so angepasst ist, dass die Differenz zwischen den Doppelbrechungswerten ein gewünschter Wert wird, wobei die Doppelbrechungswerte kurvenlineare Integrale der Doppelbrechung entlang den jeweiligen zwei Wellenleiterarmen in der optischen Signallaufrichtung sind.
  4. Optische Signalverarbeitungseinrichtung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 oder 2, wobei
    zumindest einer der zwei Wellenleiterarme teilweise mit einem Laser bestrahlt wird, wodurch die Doppelbrechung so angepasst wird, dass die Differenz zwischen den Doppelbrechungswerten ein gewünschter Wert wird, wobei die Doppelbrechungswerte kurvenlineare Integrale der Doppelbrechung entlang den jeweiligen zwei Wellenleiterarmen in der optischen Signallaufrichtung sind.
  5. Optische Signalverarbeitungseinrichtung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 oder 2, wobei
    zumindest einer der zwei Wellenleiterarme spannungsentlastende Gräben hat, die teilweise an beiden Seiten davon gebildet sind, wodurch die Doppelbrechung so angepasst ist, dass die Differenz zwischen den Doppelbrechungswerten ein gewünschter Wert wird, wobei die Doppelbrechungswerte kurvenlineare Integrale der Doppelbrechung entlang den jeweiligen zwei Wellenleiterarmen in der optischen Signallaufrichtung sind.
  6. Optische Signalverarbeitungseinrichtung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 oder 2, wobei
    zumindest einer der zwei Wellenleiterarme eine Spannungsanwendungsschicht aufweist, die auf seiner oberen Oberfläche gebildet ist, wodurch die Doppelbrechung so angepasst ist, dass die Differenz zwischen Doppelbrechungswerten ein gewünschter Wert wird, wobei die Doppelbrechungswerte kurvenlineare Integrale entlang den jeweiligen zwei Wellenleiterarmen in der optischen Signallaufrichtung sind.
  7. Optische Signalverarbeitungseinrichtung nach einem der Ansprüche 1 oder 2, wobei
    zumindest einer der zwei Wellenleiterarme ein Dünnschichtheizelement aufweist, der über ihm gebildet ist, um eine Spannung zu ändern, wodurch die Doppelbrechung so angepasst wird, dass die Differenz zwischen den Doppelbrechungswerten ein gewünschter Wert wird, wobei die Doppelbrechungswerte kurvenlineare Integrale der Doppelbrechung entlang den jeweiligen zwei Wellenleiterarmen in der optischen Signallaufrichtung sind.
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